In the Russian Federation, the Federal Protective Service (FSO) (Russian: Федеральная служба охраны, ФСО) is a federal government agency concerned with the tasks related to the protection of several, mandated by the relevant law, high-ranking state officials, including the President of Russia, as well as certain federal properties. It traces its origin to the USSR's Ninth Chief Directorate of the KGB and later Presidential Security Service (SBP) led by KGB general Alexander Korzhakov.

On May 27, 1996, the law "On State Protection" reorganized the GUO (Glavnoye Upravlenie Okhrani) into the FSO (Federal Protection Service). Under the law (article 7), "the President of the Russian Federation, while in office, shall not be allowed to forgo state protection."[1]

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Structure and command

Since May 18, 2008, the agency is headed by General Evgeny Murov. FSO has roughly 20,000 - 30,000 uniformed personnel plus several thousand plainclothes personnel and controls the "black box" that can be used in the event of global nuclear war[2]. It also operates the secure high-level communications system and the secure subway system used by the government Moscow metro-2.

It reportedly[3] includes, inter alia, Russia Presidential Security Service service, though the latter is not listed as one of the structural units on the FSO official website.

The FSO is a powerful institution with a range of rights and powers, including the right to conduct searches and surveillance without warrants, make arrests, and give orders to other state agencies.

The Service under Putin was alleged to be effectively supervised by Viktor Zolotov, head of the president's personal security service[2]. The service is still subordinated to Vladimir Putin and allegedly used to "keep an eye" on the current Russian president Medvedev[4]

Service of supervision in sphere of protection of the rights of consumers and well-being of the person · Service of supervision in sphere of public health services and social development · Service of work and employment · Federal medical and biologic agency